How much would you pay to save 15 minutes commuting?

[JPhillips]

I saw this chart and was very surprised at how much money people would spend for 15 minutes. Personally I'm in the less than 10$ category.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/chart-1.gif

[molson]

I'm very fortunate that my commute is much shorter than 15 minutes. But I don't think I'd pay more than $10 for an instantaneous commute, and I guess a bonus 10 minutes in my day.

[gstelmack]

Wouldn't this depend on your actual commute and WHICH 15 minutes we were talking about? 30 -> 15 minutes might be huge, but 2:00 -> 1:45 isn't a big deal, is it? And 2:00 -> 0:15 would be worth a heck of a lot more than the individual 15 minute chunks might indicate.

I'm not sure how I'd answer. I have a 15 minute commute now, so do I say that it's not worth much since I don't have much of a commute, or would I kill to be able to work at home? Hmmmm....

[sterlingice]

My commute is not much over 15 minutes and I kindof like the drive. However, I could easily see if you had a lot more of a time crunch (and more money), time would most definitely be more valuable.

SI

[MJ4H]

Pay per day? None of those, but I'd pay well over $100 one time to shorten it 15 minutes.

[lordscarlet]

In a way you can say that I (and many others) do pay for a shorter commute. But it's not in a per day increment. It's also hard to factor, because I pay more to live inside the city for more than just an improved commute. People choose every day to "have more money" for a "shorter commute." They choose to live 2 hours away from work to have a ton of space for less money. Others choose to pay more for a smaller place that is close to an urban office.

[lungs]

My commute is 30 seconds.

[claphamsa]

In a way you can say that I (and many others) do pay for a shorter commute. But it's not in a per day increment. It's also hard to factor, because I pay more to live inside the city for more than just an improved commute. People choose every day to "have more money" for a "shorter commute." They choose to live 2 hours away from work to have a ton of space for less money. Others choose to pay more for a smaller place that is close to an urban office.
yeah, the guy in the offce next to me lives in gaithursburg, and commutes over an hour ever day, where as mine is about 20 min. but my house is abotu 1000 square feet smaller but i paid 200K more....

so I guess I pay a lot for a shorter commute!

[BillyNYC]

As someone who lives in Chicago and is pondering an eventual move back to NYC, I approach this in a different way.

At one point in my life, I commuted more than 90 mins each way (from central Staten Island to midtown Manhattan). I vowed I wouldn't do that again. In Chicago or NYC, the average suburban or distant-parts-of-city commute might be an hour each way. All other things being equal ("same" apartment, "same" neighborhood quality), I'd be willing to pay extra in rent to turn that commute into 45 minutes.

To quantity it, the number off the top of my head would be $250/mo in rent extra. (In reality a bit less than this, but I'd expect to have a smaller apartment. As mentioned above, I'm assuming other things being equal).

So 20 work days * 15 mins * 2= 600 minutes/month. So each 15 minutes would be worth $6.25 to me. Still considerably below the $10-$20 category.

[sterlingice]

In a way you can say that I (and many others) do pay for a shorter commute. But it's not in a per day increment. It's also hard to factor, because I pay more to live inside the city for more than just an improved commute. People choose every day to "have more money" for a "shorter commute." They choose to live 2 hours away from work to have a ton of space for less money. Others choose to pay more for a smaller place that is close to an urban office.

Exactly- by where you choose you live and work, you're basically making this decision.

SI

[DanGarion]

Wouldn't this depend on your actual commute and WHICH 15 minutes we were talking about? 30 -> 15 minutes might be huge, but 2:00 -> 1:45 isn't a big deal, is it? And 2:00 -> 0:15 would be worth a heck of a lot more than the individual 15 minute chunks might indicate.

I'm not sure how I'd answer. I have a 15 minute commute now, so do I say that it's not worth much since I don't have much of a commute, or would I kill to be able to work at home? Hmmmm....

Exactly it's sort of like the law of diminishing returns. Up to a point it's worth it, after that it's just a waste since it doesn't make much impact.

[Passacaglia]

My hunch is that what people say in the poll is different from how they would act if they actually had that opportunity.

[Maple Leafs]

I'd pay a ton. My commute is about 10 minutes, so I'd be buying the ability to time travel.

Wife: Do you think Megan Fox is sexy?
Me: Maybe, if she lost some weight.
Wife: WHAT?
Me: ...
Wife: ...
Me: I have to drive to work right now.

[DanGarion]

My hunch is that what people say in the poll is different from how they would act if they actually had that opportunity.

very true, since most people are full of shit when it comes to what they want and what they really want once it's presented to them.

[DanGarion]

I'd pay a ton. My commute is about 10 minutes, so I'd be buying the ability to time travel.

Wife: Do you think Megan Fox is sexy?
Me: Maybe, if she lost some weight.
Wife: WHAT?
Me: ...
Wife: ...
Me: I have to drive to work right now.
Hehe

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm another one that has a commute of less than 15 minutes (each way), so the time saved is not of great value.

However, it would be a really neat trick to snap my fingers or whatever and make it to the office at light speed. I'd pay a considerable sum to have that technology.

[Axxon]

Exactly- by where you choose you live and work, you're basically making this decision.

SI

Yep, I now pay around $300 per month more than what I was paying a few months ago but I cut my commute back from 1.5 hours to 6 minutes by foot. Well worth the money IMHO.

[ISiddiqui]

I'd vote for $0 if I could.

I spend 20 minutes on the train, from 0-10 minutes on the platform, and 10 minutes walking to the station, so 30-40 minutes.

[lynchjm24]

I probably average going to the office 3.5 times a week. Call it 50 weeks. That's 3.5 x 2 x 50 = 350 'commutes'

At $10 a clip would I take a $3,500 pay cut to get back 105 minutes a week?

Yeah I probably would. After taxes that is probably $2,000 and at $3/gal gas I'm probably making up 2/3rds of a gallon or $1 of the $10.

So if I can pay $10 a leg from my pre-tax income to get back 105 minutes a week I would probably sign up for that. We are probably talking about ~$12 a day net. Since I make ~$60 an hour, it seems like a pretty good trade.

This is especially true if I get to pick the 15 minutes of driving I don't have to do.

[JediKooter]

I don't even have to get on the freeway to get to work. If I can catch the lights right, it takes at most about 9 minutes to get to work. So, they would owe me for about 6 minutes.

[lynchjm24]

It's also probably another $2-3 net per day on the value of the wear and tear on the car per day if you call a half hour about 25 miles. So at $10 gross I'd say I'd sign up.

[Passacaglia]

A better question, IMO, is how much you would pay to work from home.

[GoldenEagle]

My commute is 30 seconds.

Wouldn't that depend on where your car is parked?

[RomaGoth]

A better question, IMO, is how much you would pay to work from home.

We need to find some successful prostitutes to pose this question to.

[NewIdentity]

Boy this thought thorws a monkey wrench into my save money by riding my bike to work plan. By car I am 15 minutes away, but by bike I am over 30 minutes away.

I thought I was saving money by riding my bike to work, but now you are trying to tell me I am actually losing money? :(

[SteveMax58]

I'm right at 15 minutes at the moment so I chose Less than $10. While I would love to work from home, I didn't answer as if that's what it would do for me (even though I probably would pay $10/day to work from home).

But honestly, when my commutes were 45-60 minutes in the past...all 15 minutes would do is change my tolerance for staying later...by (you guessed it) 15 minutes. So no...that would not be worth that much to me.

[lynchjm24]

A better question, IMO, is how much you would pay to work from home.

That's why I go in 3.5 days a week, I pretty much can pick and choose when I go it. Full time work at home would be a rough lifestyle. Out of the people I manage, 2 work at home full time and 8 others work at home about half the time. Anymore then 2 days a week and I think I'd go mad.

[lordscarlet]

A better question, IMO, is how much you would pay to work from home.

You would have to pay me. I don't want to sit at home working alone every day -- I need interaction with my peers. It makes me more energetic, and helps me learn a lot more.

[gstelmack]

We need "Commute Credits" like the CO2 emissions credits, where I can "sell" the 5 minutes I'm under 15 to someone who is over 15 minutes to even it out...

[Desnudo]

It depends on if you're sitting in stop and go traffic or driving the whole time. I'd be all right with my commute if I was moving the whole time.

[sterlingice]

I'd pay a ton. My commute is about 10 minutes, so I'd be buying the ability to time travel.

Wife: Do you think Megan Fox is sexy?
Me: Maybe, if she lost some weight.
Wife: WHAT?
Me: ...
Wife: ...
Me: I have to drive to work right now.

:D

SI